Turkish Chili Red-Pepper Chicken Kebabs
Serves 4
It takes the same amount of work to prepare your charcoal grill no matter what you’re going to cook. So why go to all that trouble just to produce boring, dried out chicken breasts when you could make…well, when you could make this? These chicken skewers are spicy, deeply flavorful, beautifully colored, and unfailingly moist.
Aleppo pepper is a spice you can easily find online, and it’s well work keeping in your pantry. It’s not as hot as cayenne, but has a sweet, smoky heat that you’ll find yourself using a lot.
Ingredients #
- 1/2 cup drained roasted red peppers, patted try
- 6 medium garlic cloves, smashed
- 2 Fresno or red jalapeno peppers
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tbsp dried mint
- 2 tbsp Aleppo pepper
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
- 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and cut crosswise into 1” strips
- 3 tbsp chopped fresh mint
Instructions #
In a food processor, combine the roasted red peppers, garlic, chilies, oil, dried mint, Aleppo pepper, honey, tomato paste and 2 teaspoons salt. Process until almost smooth, 45 to 60 seconds, scraping the sides as needed.
Measure 3 tablespoons of the puree into a small bowl, then stir in the lemon juice; cover and refrigerate. Transfer the remaining puree to a medium bowl, add the chicken and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 12 hours.
Prepare a charcoal or gas grill for direct, medium-high heat. For a charcoal grill, ignite a large chimney three-quarters full of coals, let burn until lightly ashed over, then distribute evenly over one side of the grill bed; open the bottom grill vents and the lid vent. For a gas grill, turn all burners to high. Heat the grill, covered, for 5 to 10 minutes; clean and oil the grate. Remove the reserved puree from the refrigerator.
While the grill heats, thread the chicken onto eight 10- to 12-inch metal skewers, evenly dividing the pieces and scraping off excess marinade. If using a gas grill, turn all burners to medium-high.
Place the skewers on the grill, on the hot side if using charcoal, and cook, uncovered, turning every 2 to 3 minutes, until evenly charred on all sides and the thickest piece is opaque when cut into, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter. Stir the fresh mint into the reserved puree and serve with the kebabs.